It's Always Been Her
by Clola
Summary: How the boys of one Direction found love, friendship, and so much more on their Australian tour...
1. Chapter 1: Alex

_**Chapter one- Alex**_

The first time I saw Harry, I knew. It was the first night of their Melbourne concert and there I was- along with my best friend, Claire, and my sister, Kate- pressed up against the railing near the stage, cheering and dancing wildly, not one care given about how stupid we probably looked; it was One Direction, our favorite band, and damned if we weren't going to enjoy it.

It was the second last song of their set, their most famous, _What Makes You Beautiful_, when Harry's thick, curly hair made it's way across the stage to where we were standing. His eyes flickered through the crowd, soulful green moving over each and every one of his fans, cheeky grin plastered on his face. His eyes met with mine, and suddenly, everything stopped. The music faded away, the heat from the dancing and the crowd pressed against me, Harry's smile. Just his eyes, locked on mine, over the top of everything.

It only lasted half a second, and then, his smile was back on, his voice melting back in with his band-mates, his eyes travelling across the crowd's again. My heart was pumping double-time, my skin flushed and heated from that brief moment of contact. Though he didn't look back for the rest of the show, and we didn't have a moment like that again, I knew he'd felt it too.


	2. Chapter 2: Claire

_**Chapter 2- Claire **_

The show finished, the crowd slowly dissipating, me and the girls were heading to the main doors of the Hisence arena, when suddenly, a huge, burly black man was standing in front of us, arms rippling even under his sharp suit.

"Ladies, it's your lucky day." He smirked, eyeing us up and down. "The boys have invited you backstage" He continued, pulling from his pocket three lanyards, plastered with the official _1D _backstage pass insignia. He thrusted them at us, and it took me nudging Kate's shocked form before she reached forward and took them.

"Follow me, please." The man said, gruffly, leading us through the last of the crowd and down to the backstage area. Everywhere, the stage crew was already hard at work, setting up for the next night's performance. The man- a bodyguard, I assumed, from his lunking form and his outfit- kept leading us through, down stairs and along a narrow corridor, before knocking briskly on the door of a large, rowdy room.

Almost immediately, the noise stopped as the room's inhabitants realized they had guests. Five cheering, handsome smiles turned to face us, and the bodyguard gave a derisive snort.

"Ladies, meet One Direction."


	3. Chapter 3: Katie

_**Chapter 3- Katie**_

We entered the room and I almost screamed out loud at the sight of the five beautiful boys. Still dressed in the last outfits from the show, they stared back at us with a mix of happiness, humour and slight apprehension.

Suddenly, the silence broke and Harry stepped forward, trademark grin on his face, eyes glued to Alex.

"Hi, I'm Harry." He smiled, his deep voice carrying his accent across the room, as he took another step forward with his hand out. "I saw you lovely ladies"- again, this was directed at my sister, who's stare hadn't moved from him, either- "down in the crowd and I thought, 'ey, what a fun lookin' bunch of girls', so I thought I'd ask you back here for drinks." Suddenly, he paused, and his eyes flicked over to me.

"You are all eighteen, right?" He questioned, and I felt a lump forming in my throat. I was only sixteen. They'd send me home and I'd be stuck there with my stupid parents wondering what my stupid sister and her friend were doing with _my _favorite band and- "Yeah, we are. I'm Alex."

My sister's voice cut through my thoughts and I breathed a sigh of relief. Should have known Alex wouldn't let me down on this. She knew how much I loved One Direction, I thought to myself, and my eyes flickered over to Liam, who was idly watching the interations with the other boys. He gave me a little smile, which I did my best to return.

"And that's my sister, Kate, and my best friend, Claire. Thanks for the invite." She continued, running her hand through her array of volumous curls. Harry smiled and nodded at us.

"And, well, embarrassing as it is, we already know you guys, so introductions not needed." She grinned, and the boys chuckled as they stepped forward, shaking our hands one by one. Louis, I noticed, seemed to catch himself at the sight of Claire and stare for a few seconds. I was so distracted by the two that I barely noticed a warm hand slip into mine until a few seconds later, when I quiet voice said,

"Hey, I'm Liam." Looking up, my eyes met his and in an instant, I was gone.


	4. Chapter 4: Marvin

_**Chapter 4- Marvin**_

I scoffed quietly as the boys noticed the three ladies they'd 'requested' and came over, smiling and laughing, being exactly who the world knew them to be. I, of course, knew differently- escorting them to events before the sun was up in the morning, to and from interviews and shows, to soundchecks and dressing rooms and rehearsals, and back to their hotels mere hours before the entire cycle started again- showed me a far different side to the charming, happy guys the fans saw.

Sure, they were nice, of course, polite and friendly, but still, they were just young, young boys- boys prone to get annoyed easily; moody when tired, down right rude to one another after 18 hour days side by side. And honestly? When I'd joined the SAS, looking after a bunch of kids who barely knew how to shave yet wasn't in my job description. Still, a bullet to the chest changes a lot about a person's career- from the military and a warzone to bodyguarding and millions of screaming fans, I was still adjusting a little.

"Marve..y'don need to stay here y'know. We c'n look 'fter ourselves." A small voice snapped me out of my brooding suddenly- Niall's. He'd been watching the other boys as they crowded around the girls, talking, chatting, and, in the case of Harry and the brunette (Alex, or Andrea or something, I honestly couldn't care less) flirting, and his eyes, I noticed, kept flicking back to Zayn, who was currently leaning on the wall next to one of the girls, oozing charm. Niall's mouth hardened a little before turning back to me, and I did my best to suppress my smirk- the boy really needed to work on the whole 'secret' thing he and Zayn had going- as I looked down at the guy.

"Well, as fun as watching you losers try to pick up is," I smirked, watching as he looked over at Zayn again, "I may go grab a coffee and wait in the car, alright? We're due back at the hotel at midnight." I grinned at him, before leaning down to reach his ear- may as well have just crouched down onto my knees, he was so small next to me. "And don't worry about the boy, Ni..he looks at you everytime you look away, kid." I stood up with a wink, nodded at the rest of the group, and made my leave, chuckling at the wide-eyed boy and his band as I did so.


	5. Chapter 5: Harry

**Chapter 6- Harry**

_**Two weeks later…**_

It had been two weeks since I'd met her. Two weeks since Alex Pockney had come into my life and swept me completely off my feet.

Not that she knew, of course. I didn't want to seem like some lame loser with a pathetic crush.

Since that first night; when she and Kate and Claire had just hung out with us backstage for hours, just sitting back, laughing, chilling; I'd been completely taken by the girl. She was eighteen- like me- tall, skinny, a body to die for, and her personality- just, wow. She was funny, smart, vibrant, and just perfect in every way. I saw her, and I just _knew. _It was like what all our songs spoke about, like what those stories and movies and all the clichés described. I'd always thought it was complete bollocks and yet, somehow, in those first few seconds when her eyes had met mine in the crowd, I was taken. Completely and utterly.

The past two weeks had been a blur. Press, concerts, interviews, signings, travelling all around the state; it'd been intense. We'd been in contact with the girls, as much as possible- they'd given us their numbers, and, while I'd been texting Kate and Claire a bit, just little funny anecdotes and stories of the day, I'd been texting Alex almost non-stop.

I was hooked, to the point where Zayn yesterday had grabbed my phone, and held it above his head, laughing.

"_C'mon boyo, see how you do without her for an hour!"_

"_You looooove her!" Louis chortled, and I frowned, snatching out at the phone. Smartasses- they were lucky I didn't give them shit; we all knew Zayn couldn't deal without Niall for more than an hour at a time- not that they'd admitted it to us, yet- and if Louis thought he was much better than me, skyping with Claire everynight, then he had another thing coming. _

"_Jog on, asses." I growled, grabbing the phone back. Liam, behind me, laughed as he slid his own mobile into his pocket. "Just gotta be subtle about it, yeah?" He murmured to me, and I raised my eyebrow with a curious look. Subtle? Huh? Did Liam- sweet, innocent_ Liam_ have someone on the go?_

Funny, I hadn't even though of Liam's mystery texted again until now. What happened next completely blew it from my mind..

_Suddenly, another buzz from my phone pulled me out of my thoughts. Jogging away from my friends, before they could grab my phone from me, I pulled it out and smiled as I saw that Alex had texted me. _

'_Hey, you : ) I know you boys have a few day's break starting tomorrow- I'm having a party at mine tomorrow night; if you're free you should come! See you soon, Har. Xx'_

_Grinning, I walked back over to the boys. "Ladies," I smirked, "How do you all feel about a party?"_

At the time, it had seemed like a great idea. At the time, it just meant seeing Alex.

But now? Now that there was only an hour left until I had to get ready, until I was face to face with _her_ again?

Shit, I was packing it.


	6. Chapter 6: Niall

_**Chapter 7- Niall **_

The party was in full swing by the time we got there. Alex, who lived with Claire and a friend of theirs, Lola, had converted their house into what felt like one of those 'Frat' parties from teen movies. I could literally see the kegs on the front balcony. Music was booming- nothing by us, I was pleased to hear; and there were at least sixty people, piled into the small double story apartment.

Next to me, Harry was nervously running his hand through his hair, peering around Marvin's shoulder for a sight of Alex. Louis and Liam were waving charmingly at a small group of girls at the front stoop; peering into the darkness, I saw that it was Kate (which explained Liam's earsplitting grin), and presumably some of her friends. Behind me, I could feel Zayn's eyes on my back, though I refused to look. We'd fought, earlier, once again. I wanted to tell the boys about us, he didn't. Another day, another city, another fight. It's not like none of them already knew; they all did. I don't know why he's so scared, but I know that it's killing me.

Sighing, I step forward, in line with Marvin and Harry. Marvin glances at me. "Ready, kids?" He asks, and I smile, grateful for his presence. I nod, Harry looks like he might have a heart attack, and Marvin grins cheerily.

"Don't be nervous, Harry. Just sing to her, she'll be putty." Harry looks up at him with a glare, ready to bite his head off, but Marvin just chuckles and ruffles his hair playfully.

"In you go, then. I'll follow behind, then do a few circles of the house to check up on you all." He says, gesturing at Liam and Louis- who already seems to have someone; someone who looks a lot like Claire- firmly attached to his lips. I smile, and try not to think about how much easier it would be if Zayn could show me that kind of easy affection. I look back at him, but he's found himself a girl to pretend to be interested. Fine. If he wants to play it that way..

"Hi, I'm Niall." I say, talking to a stunningly beautiful girl with long brown hair. She looks at me, eyebrow raised. "I know." I'm about to say something about One Direction, but she continues, "Alex invited you. I'm Lola."

She puts out a soft, tanned hand, and I take it, smiling softly. "Well then. Nice to meet you, Lola. Alex has told us- well, okay, she's told Harry- a lot about you."

Lola grins. "Figures. Alex has been going on about him all week. She's obsessed, I swear to god." Suddenly, her smile fades, like she realizes she may have just revealed her housemate to be one of our many fanatical fans, but I just grin. "Harry's the same. It's always 'Alex this', or 'Alex that'. It's a bit hilarious, to be honest."

Her smile regrows, but I can tell she's only half listening to me- her eyes have focused on something, or someone, over my shoulder. Looking back, I raise an eyebrow- because there, looking right back at her, an awed look on his face, is our very own bodyguard, Marvin.


End file.
